1. Field of the Disclosure
The present invention relates to cowl structures of motor vehicles.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of motor vehicles, for protecting pedestrians, there have been proposed cowl structures that dampen a shock applied to the pedestrian when his or her head collides against the windshield.
In the motor vehicles of such type, in a space located in front of an instrument panel and below the windshield, there may be installed a cowl box having a generally rectangular closed cross section and extending transversely (i.e., in the direction of the width of the vehicle). Fresh air is led into a vehicle cabin through the cowl box.
A lower end of the windshield may be bonded to a glass holding surface provided on an upper wall of a dash upper panel that constitutes a rear part of the cowl box. For dampening a shock applied to the windshield, a vertical wall that constitutes an inboard part of the cowl box may be formed having a transversely-extending opening. Proximate to the opening, there may be a part having a generally bent cross section, so that upon receiving a shock load, the bent part may fold and deform, thereby dampening the shock load. One technique for such shock damping is disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application (Tokkai) 2006-27417 at pages 45 and FIG. 1.